I Love You, Let's Kiss. The circles spell out a slang for Kiss and, because the circles are at the beginning and end of the phrase, the theme answer is "sealed" with a Kiss.
17-Across. * Know what's going on at all times: NEVER MISS A TRICK. Neck.
28-Across. * Trained canine in an airport, say: SNIFFER DOG. Snog. Snog it a British slang for kiss, or making out.
50-Across. * Literature Nobelist who wrote "The Good Earth": PEARL S BUCK. Peck.
And the unifier:
63-Across. Love letter message often accompanied by a lipstick mark, and what the answers to the starred clues are, thanks to their circled letters: SEALED WITH A KISS.
Here's the Grid so you can see how the answers are Sealed with a Kiss.
Today's c
Across:
1. Stops on a suburban commuter train: TOWNS.
6. "Beat it!": SCAT. Scat is also a vocal improvisation style where a singer uses nonsense syllables or wordless vocables to create melodies and rhythms.
10. Intend: MEAN.
14. Silly: INANE.
15. "Pipe down!": HUSH.
16. Lhasa __: small dog: APSO. These Tibetan dogs make frequent appearances in the puzzles.
20. Taproom brew: ALE.
21. Crooked: BENT.
22. Capital of Taiwan: TAIPEI.
23. Irritate: IRK.
25. Cat call: MEOW.
27. Without a break: ON END.
31. Terro trap insects: ANTS. I am not familiar with this brand of ant traps, but it was easy enough to fill in the answer.
32. Therefore: HENCE.
33. "Sincerely __": letter ender: YOURS.
35. Unit of work: ERG. An "erg" a unit of work in the centimeter-gram-second (CGS) system, representing the amount of work done by a force of one dyne acting over a distance of one centimeter; it is equivalent to 10^-7 joules, the standard unit of work in the International System of Units (SI). Clear as mud, right?
36. Spot for a seaweed wrap: SPA.
39. Chain letters?: DNA. It's a double-helix chain.
 |
40. Victoria's Secret purchase: BRA.
43. Crock-Pot concoctions: STEWS. I have a crockpot, but I haven't used it in years.
45. Lawn-wrecking diggers: MOLES.
47. Chuck wagon fare: CHOW.
53. Puts a curse on: HEXES.
55. __ gin fizz: SLOE. Sloe gin is a liqueur made by infusing gin with sloe berries and sugar, while regular gin is distilled from juniper berries and other botanicals. Sloe gin is sweeter and has a lower alcohol content than gin.
56. Anger: IRE.
57. Prime minister between Churchill's two terms: ATTLEE. Clement Richard Attlee, 1st Earl Attlee (Jan. 3, 1883 ~ October. 8, 1967) was a British politician who served as Prime Minister from July 1945 to October 1951.
59. "__ in your shirt!": TUCK.
61. Sugar amt.: TSP. Just a Teaspoon of Sugar.
66. Cleveland's lake: ERIE.
67. Vanished: GONE. // And 69-Across. Auction cry: SOLD.
68. Gets the lead out?: MINES. Oh, quite literally mining for lead.
70. Pitcher with a big mouth: EWER.
71. Inner turmoil: ANGST.
Down:
1. Turner in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame: TINA. Tina Turner (née Anna Mae Bullock; Nov. 26, 1939 ~ May 24, 2023) was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1991.
2. Zinger: ONE-LINER. Groucho Marx (né Julius Henry Marx; Oct. 2, 1890 ~ Aug. 19, 1977) was known for his one-liners: I've had a perfectly wonderful evening, but this wasn't it.
3. Having doubts: WAVERING.
4. Tampa-to-Jacksonville dir.: NNE. As in North-North-East.
5. Croat neighbor: SERB. Serbia and Croatia share a small border.
6. Black eye: SHINER.
7. Guardianship: CUSTODY.
8. Burro: ASS.
9. "Don't be like __!": THAT.
10. Mooring spots for small boats: MARINAS.
11. Injector for allergic emergencies: EPIPEN.
12. Mountaineer's climb: ASCENT.
13. Adult party invitation request: NO KIDS.
18. Widely shared social media post: MEME.
19. East Asian principle: TAO.
24. Fast-food chain with buckets: KFC. Formerly known as Kentucky Fried Chicken.
 |
| The Colonel's head on a stick figure. |
26. Bonfire fuel: WOOD.
28. Pronoun that precedes "sells seashells" in a classic tongue twister: SHE.
29. End of Oktober?: -FEST. As in Okoberfest. Oktoberfest has been celebrated since the early 1800s as part of the official wedding festivities of the future King Ludwig I to Princess Therese of Saxe-Hildburghausen.
30. Rev, as an engine: GUN.
34. Dodge trucks: RAMS.
And for Jinx:
37. Get-up-and-go: PEP.
38. Blows away: AWES.
40. Saying impulsively, with "out": BLURTING.
41. School playtimes: RECESSES.
42. Request: ASK.
43. Grew larger: SWELLED.
44. Soup cracker: SALTINE. Because Oyster Cracker wouldn't fit.
46. __-Wan Kenobi: OBI. A reference to the Star Wars movies.
47. Runs after: CHASES.
48. Straight: HETERO.
49. Beefy soup ingredient: OX TAIL.
51. Wireless network device: ROUTER.
52. Solidarity leader Walesa: LECH. Lech Wałęsa (b. Sept. 29, 1943) was also the recipient of the 1983 Nobel Peace Prize. He did not go to the ceremony to accept the prize, however, because he was afraid the Poland's government would not let him back into the country. In 1990, he became the President of Poland.
54. "Get it?": SEE.
58. Barely beat: EDGE.
60. __ Sutra: KAMA. The Kama Sutra is an ancient Indian Hindu Sanskrit text on sexuality, eroticism and emotional fulfillment.
62. Furtive summons: PSST!
64. Blow away: WOW.
65. Family: KIN.
חתולה
Laissez Les Bons Temps Rouler !
Happy Mardi Gras!
And for those of you who thought of the other Roger Miller, here's a tribute:
